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A Jewish Dynasty in a Changing China

(Wall Street Journal) Jonathan Kaufman - Since 1880, when Iraqi Jewish refugee Elly Kadoorie arrived in Hong Kong, the Kadoorie family have been a barometer of the country's openness to the world, rising to become the richest Western family in China. Their portfolio includes China Light and Power, which provides electricity to 80% of Hong Kong's residents, and the luxury Peninsula hotel chain. In the early 20th century, as China opened up to Western ideas, many Chinese intellectuals developed a fascination with Jewish culture. Sun Yat-sen, the first president of the Republic of China, wrote to Elly Kadoorie that the Jews were a "wonderful and historic nation, which has contributed so much to the civilization of the world." Kadoorie, an active Zionist, helped persuade him to endorse the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which laid the groundwork for the founding of the State of Israel. During World War II, the elderly Elly Kadoorie was imprisoned in a Japanese camp, and he died in captivity in 1944. After the war, the Chinese communists swept in and most Westerners fled, but Elly's grown sons, Lawrence and Horace, moved to the family's hotel in Hong Kong. Over the next 70 years, the Kadoories rebuilt their fortune. The writer is director of the School of Journalism at Northeastern University. This essay is adapted from his new book, The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China (Viking, 2020).
2020-06-05 00:00:00
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